As a symbolist, Yeats used many symbols in his collected poetry. Therefore, if
you do not know what the symbols in Yeats's poetry are, you cannot understand
the hidden meanings in Yeats’s mystic and prophetic poetry. One of the significant
symbols of Yeats’s early Rose poetry is the Immortal Rose as the Divine Feminine,
Daughter Sophia in Christian Gnosticism. Yeats not only emphasized the feminine
principle as a symbol of the Immortal Rose but emphasized the role of the
masculine principle with various symbols. Especially, in Stories of the Red
Hanrahan, Red Hanrahan symbolized as the role of the masculine principle,
searching for the Immortal Rose, Echtge through his lifetime. Therefore, Red
Hanrahan is identified with Yeats's self-portrait as well as a symbol of the
Arthurian Knight, searching for the Holy Grail as the Divine Feminine. After the
symbol of the Immortal Rose in his early poetry, Yeats continued to display the
symbol of the feminine principle with various animal symbols such as a hare, cat,
colt, and lion.Yeats alluded that the Immortal Rose was suffering on the rood of time during
the last 2000 years period of the androcentric age. The meeting of the hare and the
hunters represents the balance of the masculine and the feminine principles as the
New Age comes. The hare is identified with a dying lady in “Upon a Dying Lady”
as a hidden savior, suffering in the world. However, the death does not represent a
real death but symbolized as the recovery of Sophia's glory and power. As Red
Harahan’s anti-self, the fool dreamed the meeting with the hare and the hunters and
hounds. The meeting is a paradoxical symbol for Yeats to hide his mystic poetry
from the world until the right time comes. Yeats believed that at last his beloved,
the Immortal Rose would awaken from a deep sleep and open his prophetic poetry
in the last generation of the masculine Trinity age. A cat also represents the wisdom and dignity of the Daughter Sophia in the world. It is contrast with the
symbol of the hare, symbolized as a sacrifice and sufferings of Daughter Sophia.
Therefore, the symbols of the cat and the hare are related to two aspects of the
feminine principle: proud and sad Rose. Yeats asked all sages in the last generation
as a symbol of hunters and hounds to search for the hare, the Immortal Rose in
the world. Yeats also prophesied that the last reincarnation of the Immortal Rose,
would come from the East as the cat crawls into the Buddha represented Asian
religion. Therefore, Yeats emphasized all sages to turn to the East, representing
“Meru” and “Buddha” to find the last reincarnation of the Immortal Rose. The cat
image also developed the symbol of the lion. The Daughter Sophia symbolized as a
cat would awaken and recover her glory and power as showed the Sphinx in “The
Second Coming.”As the 2000 years period of the androcentric gyre is gone, the Immortal Rose
will have her characters such as Jane and the fierce young woman, who severely
criticizes the bishop and she was angry at the persecutors during the androcentric
age. Yeats showed the symbols of the Divine Feminine such as Sphinx, Buddha and
a girl but they are One. It is related to the three aspects of the Immortal Rose
such as red, proud, and sad Rose. She is in the world as showed "a
plummet-measured face." Mathematics is a symbol of material not supernatural.
Yeats prophesied the hunters, the chosen men to search for the Immortal Rose, the
hare when the right time comes. The Sphinx’s “Empty eye ball” may be related to
the “cold eye” symbolized as disdain and breaking the imperfect world as the great
Judge in the Last Great Judgment Day. The colt symbolizes as the sufferings of the
Immortal Rose like a hare. However, Yeats prophesied that the colt also would be
released by the suppress from the masculine Trinity age. At the end of the
androcentric age, the masculine principle would be united with the feminine
principle as the symbol of the dead hare meets hunters and hounds in “Hound
Voice.” The meeting of the hare and the hounds represents the Immortal Rose meet
with the sages to prepare for the New Age. Therefore, the various animals and hunting in Yeats's poetry are paradoxical symbols to show the achievement of
“Unity of Being” and the New Age.